A Time of New Beginnings – Give Thought

In my first post on this subject, I mentioned I am not the biggest fan of New Year’s resolutions. I believe most resolutions set people up for failure and so I try to stay away from making them.

However, because it is a natural place of transition from one year to another, it is the perfect place to look back, evaluate and make changes for a better tomorrow.

I talked in part one on the importance of REFLECTING, and the benefits that can come from that. In this post, I want to share about the next step, which is to GIVE THOUGHT.

Whereas Reflecting is to look at the past, Giving Thought is taking the past, and using it to develop and influence our present and future. Reflection is necessary, but it is not possible to dwell there. The risk of reflecting can be by only looking back you cannot move forward.

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People with chronic pain and illness can at times dwell so much in their past, that they forget and ignore tomorrow. It’svery easy to remember the good and brighter days of the past. The desire to stay in that place is natural, but it won’t work. So take the time to reflect, just be sure to use it to build on today and tomorrow.

How do we do that?

Give thought to where you want to go… It may be cliché, but it is true. If you aim at nothing, you will undoubtedly succeed at hitting it. Take the time and energy (get alone, use a pad of paper and pen) to consider the directionyou want your life to go in.It is far better to have a set target and even miss it by a foot or two, than to take a wild shot into the air, and just hope for the best.

Give thought to what worked… If something had a positive or beneficial effect on your life, consider continuing or reintroducing it to your routine. Examine it for tweaks and improvements, but don’t change something that is benefiting you, just for the sake of change. This is plain old logic and common sense.

Give thought to what didn’t work… Don’t hold onto something, just because it felt like a good idea in the past. If something (activity, relationship, habit, etc) is not working well, examine it for why and make the changes necessary, but in that, also be prepared to let go and move on.If it’s not working for you today, it probably won’t work for you tomorrow, so don’t waste too much energy on it.

Give thought to something new… Is there a new exercise, a new hobby or a new treatment? Whatever youlook to achieve, is there something new that can help you hit what you are targeting? This is probably one of the hardest things for people to consider, because people don’tlikechange or the introduction of new things. With familiarity comes security, but that security can limit us from stepping outside the box to discover what may be waiting for us. We also forget something new can bring a freshness to life, and passion that may have been lost. Again use wisdom and common sense, but don’t be afraid to try something new.

I know these thoughts may seem very basic; it’s some times the most basic that can be difficult to do. I just want to encourage you to use these 4 things and begin to use them to develop a better today and tomorrow. I am pulling for you and trust as you do, this year of 2012 will be the best you ever had.